Tag: Fox Sport News

Kevin Durant has found himself at the center of more “burner” account accusations, the latest of which swirled on social media while the Houston Rockets standout played in his 16th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.

The 37-year-old is alleged to be behind direct messages from an anonymous account that criticized players and coaches he’s accompanied during a career that’s seen him win two titles and one league MVP award.

Durant added:

“My teammates know what it is. We’ve been locked in the whole season. … We had a great practice today, looking forward to this road trip.”

At the moment, there’s no evidence actually linking these critical comments to Durant. Still, social media ran rampant with the theory, circulating screenshots of an anonymous user who, among other things, blamed Rockets All-Star center Alperen Şengün for his defense, said that they couldn’t trust forward Jabari Smith Jr. to make a shot or get a stop and took a dig at former Phoenix Suns star teammate Devin Booker.

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Durant is quick to quip, confront and discuss with everyday social media users from his own verified X account, which has more than 19 million followers. He isn’t afraid to stir the pot online or engage with casual fans. Many love him for that kind of engagement, which he willingly offers and most NBA stars avoid.

Durant was asked at this year’s All-Star Weekend media availability on Saturday if he’d rather give up video games or Twitter, now known as X, for the rest of his life.

“I’m gonna go Twitter,” Durant said before continuing jokingly, “because they don’t deserve to hear this God-level-like talk I’m giving to them. They take it for granted.”

But Durant has used burner accounts before.

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In 2017, Durant posted in the third-person from his personal account, throwing shade on the Oklahoma City Thunder and then-head coach Billy Donovan while explaining his decision from the previous year to leave the franchise that drafted him for the Golden State Warriors, a Western Conference foe and the league’s crown jewel at the time.

Durant owned his mistake and apologized for it in the aftermath of the social media storm he caused.

In 2019, according to The Athletic, Durant said in an interview on ESPN’s “The Boardroom” that he used anonymous accounts as a way to speak out and dodge the notoriety that’s often impossible to hide from as an NBA player.

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Durant is playing in his 18th NBA season. He’s spent 19 total years in the league, representing five franchises.

Now with the Rockets, he’s still among the best in the sport. He’s shooting above 50% from the field and north of 40% from 3. His 25.8 points per game are tops on the team.

While fourth in the West, the 33-20 Rockets will need a strong push to grab the No. 2 seed like they did ahead of last year’s playoffs.

Durant is trying to tune out the noise, even if it’s once again loud and scrutinizing his social-media presence.

Texas Tech will be without star JT Toppin the rest of the way.

The Red Raiders announced on Wednesday that Toppin will miss the rest of the season with a torn right ACL. Toppin went down late in No. 13 Texas Tech’s 72-67 loss at Arizona State, and had to be helped off the floor.

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Toppin tried to drive to the rim in transition late in the second half of the contest at Desert Financial Arena on Tuesday when he appeared to lose his balance right as he was going up. That sent Toppin crashing down to the court hard, and he reached for his leg almost immediately under the rim, clearly in a lot of pain.

After remaining down on the court for quite some time, Toppin was helped off and back to the locker room. He did not return.

Toppin had 20 points and eight rebounds when he went down. The junior, who was named a preseason All-American back in October, has averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game this season.

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Texas Tech now sits at 19-7 on the season with Tuesday’s loss, which came just days after they knocked off then-No. 1 Arizona on the road.

The Red Raiders have been hanging with the top of the Big 12 pretty successfully this season, thanks in part to a big win over Houston late last month. They handed Duke its first loss of the season back in December, too, and currently sit in fifth in the conference standings entering the final stretch of the season.

But Toppin has undoubtedly been a major part of that success. While the rest of their schedule is relatively tame, save for a trip to Ames to take on No. 6 Iowa State next week, surviving the Big 12 tournament and making a run in the NCAA tournament without Toppin is going to be much more difficult.

Mitch Marner saved Canada’s men’s hockey team from an embarrassing exit at the 2026 Winter Olympics with an overtime goal during a 4-3 win against Czechia on Wednesday.

After a back-and-forth regulation that saw three lead changes and Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington denying Czechia forward Martin Nečas on a breakaway with 1:12 to play, Marner delivered the winner 82 seconds into the 3-on-3 overtime, beating Lukáš Dostál with a backhand.

Canada now advances to Friday’s semifinal where it will face either Sweden — should it beat the U.S. on Wednesday — or the winner of Finland/Switzerland as the tournament re-seeds following the quarterfinals.

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The Czechs put a big scare into Canada and were on the verge of a massive upset. Ondřej Palát’s goal with 7:42 to play in the third period put the underdogs ahead 3-2, but minutes later Nick Suzuki saved Canada’s hopes with a deflected goal.

Canada loses Sidney Crosby to injury

Team Canada’s victory was not without one bit of worrying news. Sidney Crosby was ruled out of the game early in the third period after suffering a lower-body injury.

The 38-year-old, two-time Olympic gold medalist left in the second period after being hit along the boards by Nečas and Radko Gudas. It was a third big hit Crosby took in the period after Gudas and Palát connected on checks with the Team Canada captain.

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Crosby recovered and took a stride following the Gudas and Nečas hit, but he was seen shaking his right leg before exiting the ice. After being attended to on Canada’s bench, Crosby limped down the tunnel to the locker room. He did not return to the bench for the rest of the game.

Czechia was leading 2-1 at the time of Crosby’s injury.

According to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, Crosby will undergo an MRI on Wednesday to determine the severity of his lower-body injury.

Czechia coach has complaints about officiating

Radim Rulík has opinions on the officiating during the loss to Canada, and they were not kind.

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“The referees really worry me,” Rulik said, via translation. “What they’re allowing against us is unacceptable. After every game, we send them two or three clips where they confirm that the opponent should have been penalized. I don’t understand it.”

On Nečas’ breakaway attempt late in the game, Rulík felt like the Czech forward was hooked by Canada defenseman Devon Toews in the neutral zone. No call was made.

Rulík went on to say he was also not a fan of how the officiating pool is a mix NHL and European referees. He added that he didn’t understand why more calls weren’t made against Canada.

“I just don’t get it,” Rulík said. “I feel like everyone is afraid to call anything against Canada. We were basically playing against six players. I don’t want to make excuses, and no one has to agree with me, but the video backs me up.”

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What Rulík failed to bring up was a controversial missed call against the Czechs on Palát’s go-ahead goal in the third period.

Canada head coach Jon Cooper was asked about the missed call. His response way to just smile and walk away.

The ex-girlfriend of Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has filed a civil suit against Rice alleging that he abused her for over a year.

Dacoda Jones said in her suit filed Monday in Dallas County, Texas, that Rice was physically abusive from approximately December 2023 through July of 2025. Included in the suit are three specific dates in that timeframe.

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(Warning: The paragraph below details accusations of physical abuse.)

“Defendant Rashee Rice and Plaintiff Dacoda Jones lived together. Following an escalation in violent behavior, in December, 2023, defendant Rashee Rice strangled plaintiff Decoda Jones at their shared home in Victory Park, Texas. Defendant Rashee Rice continued to repeatedly assault Dacoda Jones over the course of their relationship through July 2025,” the suit said. “Defendant Rice has grabbed, choked, strangled, pushed, thrown, scratched, hit and head butted Ms. Jones, as well as hit her with inanimate objects. Additionally, he has engaged in other violent and abusive behaviors towards Ms. Jones, including throwing objects, destroying property, punching walls, and breaking furniture, as well as locking her out in the middle of the night. Many of these behaviors occurred while Ms. Jones was pregnant.”

The suit asks for damages over $1 million. Jones and Rice have two children together. Over Valentine’s Day weekend, Rice posted a picture of himself with an Instagram influencer to his own account with a heart covering up a gesture he was making with his right hand.

The legal action comes after Jones posted and deleted pictures on social media that showed bruises and markings on her body and alleged abuse over a lengthy period of time. Rice was not directly named in that post, but the Chiefs said in a statement that it was “aware of the allegations on social media and is in communication with the National Football League.”

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The Chiefs said the same thing Wednesday afternoon.

Rice’s attorney Sean Lindsey, however, released the following statement:

“On October 9th, 2025, well after the parties’ relationship had ended, Ms. Jones stated under penalty of perjury in a sworn Affidavit for Non-Prosecution that ‘Mr. Rice and I had a verbal argument, but he did not punch me. We will allow the legal process to run its course and have no further comment at this time.”

Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years of probation in July for a multi-car crash on the North Dallas Tollway that led to multiple injuries in 2024. Rice pled guilty to two third-degree felonies but those charges can be dismissed if he completes the terms of his probation.

Rice settled a civil suit regarding the crash for $1 million, but an attorney for the plaintiff said in July that his client had not been paid yet.

The NFL suspended Rice for the first six games of 2025 because of the crash. He played in just four games in 2024 before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. In 2025, Rice played in eight games with 53 catches for 571 yards and five touchdowns.

Sacramento Kings standout center Domantas Sabonis underwent season-ending surgery on Wednesday to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Sabonis, 29, tried to play through the injury, notably returning to the court before the trade deadline, but he missed the team’s final four games before the All-Star break.

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The three-time All-Star big man appeared to be on the trade block this season, and so did fellow veterans Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, but all three of them are still in Sacramento.

LaVine reportedly underwent season-ending surgery himself last week.

His procedure addressed a tendon injury in his right hand that caused the two-time All-Star guard to miss the Kings’ last three games prior to the break. Earlier this season — his second with Sacramento after he was traded midseason from the Chicago Bulls last year in the three-team deal that sent now-two-time All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs — LaVine missed nine games in a row because of a left ankle injury.

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Injuries have been a thorn in the Kings’ side throughout a forgettable season that’s seen the franchise toil in the basement of the league’s standings.

Sacramento’s 12 wins are the fewest in the NBA at the moment. The Kings limped into the break with 14 straight losses.

Their imbalanced and veteran-laden roster featured LaVine and Sabonis as two of its top-three scorers. LaVine had been leading the team with 19.2 points per game, and Sabonis was third with 15.8 points per game, although Sabonis was on the floor for just 19 games this season.

Sabonis, the 11th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft who made his first two All-Star teams with the Indiana Pacers, went down with a partially torn meniscus in his left knee in November. Even before that, though, he missed time early in the season with a hamstring strain that he picked up in the preseason and then a rib injury.

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At the time of his meniscus diagnosis, Sabonis was reportedly expected to be re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks. When late December rolled around, his recovery timeline was extended, as the Kings announced that Sabonis would miss 4-5 additional weeks.

When he was on the court this season, he struggled mightily from beyond the arc, making just five of his 27 3-point attempts. But he remained an effective rebounder, collecting a double-double in all but seven of his appearances.

Along with Fox, Sabonis helped Sacramento end its 16-season playoff drought during the 2022-23 campaign. Since, however, the Kings haven’t returned to the postseason. They’re nowhere close this time around, and Sabonis’ future with the organization is murky.

So is LaVine’s, even though he might opt into his $48.9 million player option for next season and Sabonis has two years and $94 million left on his contract.

It’s possible Kings general manager Scott Perry resumes trade talks this summer, after all.

The NFL scouting combine is back starting Monday as hundreds of draft hopefuls will make their way to Indianapolis to showcase their athletic talents and formally meet with teams as the slow roll to April’s draft picks up.

In recent years, the combine’s scope has drastically changed, altering the event’s overall importance. The days of the combine being a true showcase for all the best players in each draft is long over, leaving a product that’s been diluted by a lack of participants and a questionable need to be on prime-time television.

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But there still are a few hidden elements that are important to the league’s overall health. Sure, the list of what matters in Indianapolis dwindles by the year. The number of players who participate in drills and coaches who attend the event continues to shrink. Yet, there is one part of the process that is still incredibly important: the interview.

The combine is still a centralized hub for teams to get face-to-face time with prospects for the first time. Those interviews can heavily sway clubs to draft (or not draft!) them in April.

Being a leaguewide communication hub is also important for the combine. Beyond player interviews with prospective teams, it’s one of the few times a large percentage of NFL teams’ front-office personnel and agents will be in the same city over a prolonged period of days. The extended face-to-face time ignites preliminary discussions that allow free agents to agree to terms at the very second the “legal tampering” window opens — this year, it’s March 9 at noon ET — followed by the official start of the new league year on March 11 at 4 p.m.

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Those are conversations the public isn’t privy to, but they become tangibly important shortly after the combine ends.

Perhaps the most critical part of the combine that still matters are the medicals. Again, that’s information that is largely hidden behind the scenes, but it will matter throughout the draft process even if the information leaks out well after the combine is over. Sometimes these issues aren’t heard about until early April when players head back to Indianapolis for medical re-checks. Yeah, real riveting information for viewers.

The on-field workouts still matter for lower-level players and prospects who have a chance to put their name into the sphere of public opinion, but the amount of notable players who have been participating in the workouts has drastically reduced the overall importance of this event from a consumer perspective. Considering the NFL has flatly shown that players not participating in the event doesn’t matter to its teams, there’s no reason to think that the athletic showcase that used to be a hot topic will be coming back soon.

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For the players who do participate in the on-field action, here are few drills to keep an eye on beyond the 40-yard dash.

Broad jump: This is great at measuring lower-body explosion in a way that projects how players can perform through contact. Some of the best tacklers, running backs and linemen have elite scores in this area.

3-cone drills: This one is crucial for wide receivers and defensive linemen. The ability to cut through tight spaces in short time is critical in getting open versus man coverage or beating offensive tackles around the edge.

Short shuttle: Some of the best offensive linemen and defensive backs in the league have high scores in this area because it shows the ability to immediately be explosive from a disadvantageous position. The Packers have historically valued offensive linemen who perform well in this drill.

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Everything else, especially the throwing sessions, is going to be noise. It’s nice to see how players move in some drills, but game tape is more useful.

The spectacle of some prospects standing out in the 40-yard dash is always going to be interesting, but the degrees have fallen as fewer players do workouts in Indianapolis. For hardcore observers of the draft, there are plenty of things to follow. For everyone else, the most relevant information derived from the combine will likely be hidden for a few weeks.

MILAN — Quinn Hughes admits he was crushed last February when an ill-timed oblique injury robbed him of the chance to play for the U.S. men’s hockey team at the 4 Nations tournament.

A year later, it’s safe to say that the Americans are grateful to have him now.

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Hughes called game three-plus minutes into overtime against Sweden on Thursday to help the U.S. survive its first real test of these Olympics. The 26-year-old defenseman ripped a laser shot past Swedish goaltender Jacob Markstrom, securing a 2-1 American victory in an Olympic quarterfinal matchup that very easily could have come a round or two later in knockout play.

Asked how it felt to see that puck ring off the post and into the net, a smiling Hughes responded, “Just relief.”

“I’m really enjoying wearing the crest, playing with the superstars we have on this team, getting to know these guys, living in the [Olympic] Village,” Hughes said. ”You just want to extend it as long as you can.”

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With two minutes left in regulation, the Americans didn’t think they would need overtime heroics to set up a semifinal matchup against Slovakia. American goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had held strong, turning away all 28 shots that Sweden sent in his direction.

Then, with the Americans 91 seconds from the semifinals, the three-time Vezina Trophy winner finally buckled. Sweden’s Mika Zibanejad fired a shot from the faceoff circle that snuck through Hellebuyck to tie the game and force overtime.

“Anytime that happens, it can be tough but you’ve got to turn the page quick,” U.S. defender Noah Hanifin said. “Our leaders did a really good job of settling everyone down and the guys who were out there in overtime did a great job for us.”

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The last time the U.S. men’s hockey team captured Olympic gold, a group of college standouts and minor-league nobodies engineered the Miracle on Ice. Forty-six years later, the Americans boast the strongest roster they’ve ever brought to an Olympics and the belief that it is at last their time again.

For the Americans to advance to the gold medal match, they will first have to survive a semifinal matchup against upstart Slovakia. The Slovakians aren’t loaded with NHL talent like the other semifinalists, but they won a group that included both Sweden and Finland and then routed Germany on Wednesday morning to advance to the semifinals.

“It’s going to be an extremely hard test,” Matthews said. “They’ve been rolling, they’re competitive, they’re fast. It doesn’t matter how many superstars you have or whatnot. The desperation level is so high. It’s Game 7 every night now.”

In some ways, the Americans entered Wednesday in exactly the position they hoped to be. Placed in a group without another realistic medal contender, the U.S. comfortably dispatched of Germany, Latvia and Denmark to earn a bye to the quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed.

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And yet while the results were satisfactory, it seldom felt like the Americans played to their potential. They started slowly in all three games and their forwards didn’t consistently display the chemistry or firepower expected against lesser competition.

For the U.S., drawing Sweden in the quarterfinals provided an entirely different caliber of test. The Swedes are the other team besides the U.S. and Canada whose roster consists of nothing but NHL players. They’re one of the so-called Big Four. They beat the Americans last February during round-robin play at the Four Nations tournament.

Despite winning two of three preliminary games to finish in a tie with Slovenia and Finland atop its group, Sweden slipped to the No. 7 seed because of goal differential. The Swedes had to swat aside Latvia on Tuesday just to earn the right to meet the U.S. the following night.

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Which team would emerge battle-tested and better prepared for the meat of the tournament? And which would endure a sudden end to their gold medal pursuit? A scoreless opening period offered little in the way of answers. Both teams generated 10 shots apiece but very few threatening scoring chances.

The breakthrough arrived at last more than 11 minutes into the second period. American forward Dylan Larkin, parked directly in front of the Swedish net, deftly redirected a Jack Hughes shot from the point past Markstrom for the opening goal of the game.

Hellebuyck made that one-goal lead stand up for 58-plus minutes, a display of brilliance that underscored that the USA’s biggest advantage at these Olympics will be at the defensive end of the ice. While Canada’s forward corps is loaded with superstars, the Americans boast the tournament’s deepest group of defensemen and a goalie who is the reigning NHL MVP.

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Of course, one of those defensemen stepped up when the Americans needed an offensive spark too. The U.S. bench spilled onto the ice to mob Hughes after a goal that will be talked about for a long time if the Americans go on to win gold.

Matthew Tkachuk said he didn’t know if Hughes’ shot went in until he saw the defenseman celebrate and heard the crowd roar.

“It was definitely the highest I’ve jumped since my surgery,” said Tkachuk, who underwent offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia.

For Hughes, the goal was a reminder of how grateful he is to have the opportunity to play in these Olympics after not getting the chance to help the U.S. last February.

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“I felt like I was playing great hockey at the time and wasn’t able to be there,” he said. “It sucked, but you move on. I’m here this time and I’m really enjoying it.”

Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid will miss the team’s first game back after the All-Star break against the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday due to an issue with his shin, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported. Embiid will be re-evaluated before the team’s following game Saturday.

Embiid has appeared in just 31 games this season, but has looked good when he’s been able to play. His average is back up to over 26 points per game after averaging 23.8 points last season in only 19 games. The Sixers are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 30-24.

In his last 10 games leading up to the All-Star break, Embiid really seemed to hit his stride, averaging 33.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. During that span, Embiid shot 52.9% from 3-point range and 86.9% from the free throw line. More importantly, Philly went 7-3 in that stretch.

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With Embiid’s injury history, any time he misses is always concerning. Before playing in 19 games last season, he played 39 the year before that. During his MVP campaign of 2022-23, Embiid missed 16 games, appearing in 66, which were the second most of his career. The previous year, Embiid played in 68 games for Philadelphia.

Despite all the injuries, Embiid is still considered one of the best centers in basketball when healthy. At this point, the Sixers and the fan base know Embiid is going to miss some time each year. For Philadelphia, it’s about having him healthy in April and May as it attempts to make a title run. The Sixers have never advanced beyond the Eastern Conference semifinals during Embiid’s tenure with the franchise.

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Philly and Atlanta tipoff at 7 p.m. ET Thursday from Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

Mick Cronin wasn’t going to let officials have the chance to eject center Steven Jamerson II on Tuesday night.

Instead, he did it himself.

The UCLA head coach threw his own player out of the Bruins’ blowout 82-59 loss at No. 15 Michigan State on Tuesday after he picked up a technical foul.

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With about four minutes to go at the Breslin Center, Jamerson came from behind and fouled Michigan State center Carson Cooper as he went up for a breakaway dunk. Jamerson hammered Cooper, and sent him down to the court awkwardly. Cooper jumped up immediately and squared up with Jamerson under the rim before the two were separated without issue.

After seeing the incident with his team down by almost 30 points at the time, Cronin called Jamerson over to the bench, grabbed him by his jersey and started walking him off the floor while pointing to the locker room. Jamerson didn’t protest much, and jogged to the tunnel.

“I guess he upgraded that to a flagrant 2, huh? That’s the first time I’ve saw a coach do that,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “That sounded like Mick, he’ll get that straightened out.

Jamerson finished with two points and two rebounds in eight minutes. The senior has averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game this season in his first year with the Bruins. Before UCLA, Jamerson played for three seasons at San Diego after spending his first year of college as a student at Michigan State. He attempted to be a walk-on for the Spartans and a manager that season, but Izzo said on his pregame radio show that he didn’t have much of a recollection of Jamerson.

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Both Jamerson and Cooper were assessed technical fouls for the play, and Cooper split his free throws for the original foul on the dunk attempt. That put Michigan State up by 28.

Jeremy Fears led Michigan State with 16 points and 10 assists in the win. The Spartans led nearly the entire way, and entered halftime with a 20-point lead despite not scoring in the final two minutes of the period. Coen Carr added 16 points and Cooper finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. They shot 52% from the 3-point line, and outrebounded UCLA by 10.

After the game, Cronin was in a bad mood. He chastised a reporter for asking a question about the Michigan State student section and then asked if the reporter was raising his voice at him.

As for the ejection, Cronin said he was “thoroughly disappointed” in Jamerson.

“You know, true toughness is how you compete and how you go to work every day. Steve’s a good kid. He made a bad decision,” Cronin said, via ESPN. “But if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game, for a blockout, for a rebound.

“So, I was thoroughly disappointed; the guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but the game’s a 25-point game. You don’t do that.”

The win came amid a rough stretch for Michigan State. The Spartans have lost three of their last five, including at unranked Minnesota and a 21-point loss at Wisconsin. They now sit at 21-5 on the season and third in the Big Ten race.

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Tyler Bilodeau led UCLA with 22 points and six rebounds. Skyy Clark was the only other Bruins player to hit double figures with his 12 points off the bench. The loss dropped the Bruins to 17-9 this season as they try to hang on for an NCAA tournament bid. It marked their second straight blowout loss, too, after a 30-point loss at Michigan just days earlier.

Cronin is in his sixth season with the Bruins, who opened the season at No. 12 in the national rankings before falling out completely. He holds a 155-73 record with the Bruins, whom he led to a Final Four in his second campaign in Southern California.

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The Bruins will host No. 10 Illinois next on Saturday. Jamerson’s status for that contest at Pauley Pavilion, after Tuesday’s incident in East Lansing, is unknown.